Marvel launched its first all-original downloadable motion comic on iTunes yesterday, and according to the press release you are about to read, it was a hit, debuting at #1 on the Television-Animation chart and #2 on the Top Television Episodes chart. Created by Brian Bendis and Alex Maleev, the project certainly has the creative pedigree to be competitive. Could this be yet another venue for the Marvel empire to expand?

Official PR below:

Marvel is pleased to announce that the first episode of Spider-Woman Motion Comic has conquered iTunes, debuting as the #1 episode on the Television-Animation sales chart and as the #2 episode on the Top Television Episodes sales chart. The New York Times Best-Selling team of Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev (Halo Uprising) present Marvel’s first ever original motion comic as Spider-Woman embarks on a new mission that’ll change the Marvel Universe forever! With national coverage from MTV to the LA Times, everyone’s talking about the first episode of the Spider-Woman Motion Comic, available now on iTunes!

“To wake up this morning and see Spider-Woman ranked so high on the iTunes charts is crazy insane to me,” gushed Brian Michael Bendis. “Thanks to all the readers, and especially the motion comics first timers, who tried us out and than hit the subscribe button. To quote the Stan: you ain’t seen nothing yet!”

“I’m thrilled to see fans responding so enthusiastically to Marvel’s first motion comic,” said Alex Maleev. “Thanks to all the fans who’ve purchased Spider-Woman and I can’t wait till you see what’s next!”

John Dokes, Vice President, Sales and Marketing- Digital Media said, “Everyone at Marvel is proud of the Spider-Woman motion comic and this superb launch has exceeded all our expectations. Brian and Alex, have re-energized the geek in me—you have to see this for yourself!”

The new Spider-Woman follows up on the nefarious narratives of Marvel’s New Avengers and Secret Invasion. The series, which will be released as both motion comic and in the traditional format, lets Eisner-winning writer and self-professed Spider-Woman superfan Brian Michael Bendis take a shot at the story of Jessica Drew Spider-Woman’s alter ego from when the character originally appeared in 1977. [. . .]

But the emphasis of this brave new digital iteration is on movement, as the Spider-Woman trailer above illustrates nicely. Motion comics can pulse into life more quickly than their pulp counterparts, which is one benefit of the medium. Another plus? A lighter carbon footprint. They’re also cheaper: Most major motion comics top out on iTunes at around $2, while the pamphlet versions still run twice that. (Spider-Woman will cost just $1 during a two-week introductory period. Then the price rises to $2 a pop.)

I don’t see the motion comics format having a significant effect on story content, as long as the electronic and paper formats of a story are issued concurrently. The Peanuts cartoons were memorable, not because the characters were different from those in the newspaper strip, but because the format allowed longer stories without artificial breaks.